Furnace for smelting ores.



PATENTED MAY 8, X905* B. RIVERULL. FURNACB PGR SMBLTING CRBS.

APPLUJATION TLED OGTL i905 err oiarnres FURNACE FR SMELTNG DRES.

Application ie ctober i5, Serial No. 232,89?.

To @ZZ who-mzizi may conce-rn: i Be it known that l, Ewen@ ihnen citizen o Mexif-o, ree-ding et Los Angeline., in i the county of Los Angeiee and tat-e of ("eifornin, have invented a new'anfl nseni n nase nr Snieieng Orcs, of which the *fini-fin ing is a. speeitcetion. f

An impnrtnnt ebieet nf the ernennt invention is to provie a. nrnere nr 1;', VTnelin; which wiil be eontinumis, or siinntantinly so. Another object of thc'iiwentinn is to proi vide a furnace. for smelting aires by the use ni E Huid ne1,sneii as hyirnceriinns er Vetruieimi. The furnace is partir nnriy ajapteai for i i smeting of copper ores sind is herein det seribed in that connection, etliongn it. is npplienbie to anni@ extent in ennneetinn with other laresA An important teinture of the the enieiing heat is eppiei in combustion of fuel iocntei externeiy nf the i ore instead of mixed with the nre. in the ordinary reverberatory hanane the nent is i i'nrnaee that the bf.' the YL nis@ applied by external means. In that ease the ore is heated by radiation and conz duction imm above sind difiicnity is enonnd 2l tereii in bringing the heat in effective rnntaey with the ore. @n the other hand, attempts to npni'y the externaire-generated hen?. in a, blast-immane have failed un air-,count of the elegging of the blast, by nietrll ninteriei.

The nresent inrentiun provides fer bringing the Kont in effective eontnrt with ei gnrte i of the ore sind for maintaining the body o' ore l cnntinnniy in condition to niimv nf the heating agent tierethrengh. The keating ami smeiting agent in this: ras-e row niets e? the, inst resnfing funn ii 'nnstion u? iiyiirnenrbon or nii Wirii n u quantity of nir nini by proper@V prei I ing tiie nin-mint nf fuel :and nir einen may be made of either sin nxiiiizing; in or neutral nsitine nur. rsien die Y it is deaired to produce on the er The invention comprises n furnace having en inclined oreehnte, means enabling peek- 3 ingm 'iiing the orerhnte @'i manner ne to shake or obstruct the pasr sage of air netween the top of the nre anni the top of tire chiite, means fur arresting the downward nmvement nf the ore within the chute et n deiinite position in the envite, and menne for directing into and through the body oi ore in e nnrent ni hot gases for meltin or smeiting the ere the chute bel ing of suc inulnation in tile part thereof i nerinir downward die ore and if sui-.ii inciinaon et the. part be@V of the reetV tne ore :is to ennhe ifi i n'waj: of the melted ure of the furnace.

l werd'ljg et an cnunnnnim i extended fit en incine ere in auch e which Y'eontnins and snppr-,rte the as tn grevitnting mnvexnent of inw the melting zone or josi or flowing from melted ore.

The ncconipanjing iene? (in iinstrate an apparatus sutnie for carrying ont the invenifin;

Figure i is n iongitudinal veriirni section l Fig. .2 is a verticu section on theV iine :e2 ,112 in Fig. L 3 is it section on the. line in Fi Fi;I 4 in n ser inn en the iine ze* 5 is; n sie(s the iine at@ in Fig. i, i; t5 is a sentieri on the 'tine i in Figi i. i

Referring to the tirins'inga? i rie-frieten en ore chute or eianiiaer; anni e nf'ei re tnrie et the ini' end if seid rnnte oefenen her, the seid ennieir riiernber extending nnineinniion frnnf sind weii and n fng at nr near its upper with n steek or fine 3.

l de naine n ennibnsiioibeiieinbe? et the Siie n? the weil 2 opposite the Chute i.

Sienne nre )roifided for supplying erev into the upper emi of the chute i, smid means wie Sistinej for exsmipie, of a charging iee or pasfnrnieii by sin extension ef the chute 1 bernnil the stack 3, the ore being iinfnped or l@hinged into said passage from a, suitnfne a the Said passnfe being of ent to eneae the ore-@Tinte in nneteiy or {ilief at its upper en with he ore nini nre sliding down *the npger end in; gravity toward the in r gert o? the e-inte. nei-ir the iower i menne e iroridei for oben i nwnri passage of the ower end oi i r this; imi'- to iiie upper part nr mein body; n? inte: the ineinninn ore wi not pass forward thereon by gravit? and wili therefore acrummulate or become cheeked in its nwnrd movement. Y

T deeigne -s Emmer iur suppivng enne iiuiie iinii in the ioinbnstiori-Chmnbr the mid burner eoinprisingzi hnrnerieeri l?? snppiy pige 9 in such manner as to inieee er etorn"" eheffnid fuel into the ein inenpiy means are 'ting einher? or i. i

ine burner f ViderL being mail that ie i un'ins or piers 'l 3o vlng with an air-suppiy pipe 1 1, the said pipe en tering a drum 1.2, surrounding a rearward extension o5 nozzle 10, said extension being perforated at I0 to enable passage o'f air into y the nuziale, thereby producing an annular jet or blast of air surrounding the jet of atomized fuel. The fuel and air nozzles are preferably ositioned so as to direct the of flame or ot gases therefrom on the lower end of the body of ore. The air-supply pipe 11 is connected to any suitable source of air-supply under ressure--for example, a blower or fan. (llot shown.) An auxiliary supplyinlet is provided at 18 in the sides of the orechute 1 at or below the smelting zone, this inlet being supplied by pipe 17, leading from the main supply-pipe 11.

The heat of the smelting operation being intense, it is necessary to line the combustionwell and ore -chamber with a refractory lining, (indicated at 13,) and in order to resent sufficient mechanical support to said lining and prevent burning ont thereof a water-- jacket 14 is rovided around these chambers, water snppry and outlet pipes 15 16 being provided therefor.

The ore-chute and combostion-chamber are `suppmted in a frame consisting of colso arranged as to leave the bottom of thi` f `l inhiber walls exposed for cooling by the air around the saine. Well 2 may be rcmova ble, being supported on jacks 20.

2l designates the ta i hole or spout in the well, and 22 the slarf-lhole. The ore-chute may be provided wit ipoke-holes, (indicated at 23.) The oil-burner 7 and the air-pipe Il are provided with valves or regulating means 25 26 to enable regulation of the fuel and air su ly.

1e operation is as follows: Ore of any suitable character-for example, cop er ore, either in the forni of carbonatos, su fids, or oxide, or mixture thereof, or compound ore of any kind., such as chalcopyrite-is delivered on the latform 6 and is charged continuouslv or iiom time to time into the upper end of t e ore-chute l through the feed-pas- Sage 5. The orc rolls and slides down the Chute until it reaches the lloor portion of less inclination, at which point it will accumulati` and pile up in a manner somewhat as show n l in the drawings, and this charging or filling operation is continued until the body or pile o orecoinpletclylillsorchokestheconductof chute 1 and extends substantially to the upper end thcreol. The front or lower end of this body of ore will then have an inclination to a horizontal, depending somewhat on the character of the orc, extending at its lower portion or foot toward the well 2 and receding therefrom upwardly. All the openings at the lower part of the combustion-chamber, chute, and well are closed. The burner l having been turned on and ignited and the air-blast also havingr been turned on and the combustion-chamber, well, and lower part of the chute being closed against exit of air, the o )eration will Jroceed as follows: The jet or blast of combustible and air burns in the combustion-chamber and passin over the well enters the ore-chute and is irected on the body of ore therein. The ore is assumed to be of such a size that it will ermit of the passage of the hot gases resulting from the combustion in the blast or let to pass therethrough; but owing to the obstruction caused by the choking or blocking of the passage by the ore mass it is necessary to employ a substantial pressure to cause the hot gases to force then' ,way through the orc to the stack. The charging-passage 5 may, if desired, be closed except when charging. It is found in ractice that the ore as it ordinarily comes om the mine can be used in this manner and is sufficiently open to permit the passage of the hot gases; but in some cases it will be desirable to crush the ore to a more or less uniform reduced size, it bein understood that the smaller the size of the lumps or par` ticles of ore the more rapid will be the heating thereof as long as the passage for the hot gases is not unduly constricted. The intense heat of the combined jet or blast of fuel and air directed on to the ore eventually melts the ore at the lower end ofthe pile, and as the ore melts it Hows away down the lower inclined floor, the inclination of which is sufficient to permit ol this, although not sufficient to alow gravitative movement of the unnielted orc. The ore in the chute will then move down and take the place of the ore thus melted, and if ore is continually supplied at the upper end this operation will continue. The melted ore runs from the inclined table into the well 2, where it accumulates and is kept in melted condition by radiation and reilcction from the blast and overlying walls'of the chamber. l

The operation has been described as a simple melting operation; but it will be understood that according to the character of ore it can be made a roasting or oxidizing or reducing or sm elting op eration, the effect being controlled according to the character of ore and product by varying the proportionate amounts of fuel and air admitted at the burner and blast. Thus in case of the chalcopyrite ore sufficient oxygen will be furnished in addition bustion of the fuel to roast or oxidize part of the sulfur, whereupon during fusion the usual reaction will take place between the oxidized portion and the unoxidized portion to form a matte more or less rich in copper, which will separate from the sla containing the iron, silica, &c. If it is desired to obtain the copper in reduced or metallic state, an excess of fluid combustible may be supplied to effect the reduction, and in some cases it may be necessary to provide for initial oxidation fol- IOO IIO

to that required for comsgonss 3 Y .owed by rnotion, this being provided for chute, tbe ahnte being unobstructed between by the auxiliary blast at 18, which supplies said arresting position and the oreeeeerging at the fusion zone sufficient oir to cause oxiinlet et the opper end of the chute, to permit detion or rosstin the roasted or more or less ore toieee bv avity in solid state from oxidized materia. being then melted es it npper'en of t e @bute to seid arresting'- 7o possesV Vthrough the fusion zone and the postion, ineens for drawing owev the melted product then passing down toward ore atthe lower portion of the ebute, and. a the burner and being subjected to a reducing snppienientsry sir-blast means direct-ed into 3eme therefrom. tbe ore-chute froln e, point between tbc com illnstreting the eilcieney o'tbe proc-ess bnstion-cliaznberend 'tliei steek. applieol to low-grade ores the following results n ore-smeltng furnace oonsprislngen were obtained 'in rectce, the char e oonsistncline ore-chute having e charging-opening ing of iron ore en silicious ore of t e followet its upper end and an'outlet-stnckopemng ing analyses: from the @bute below the upper end thereof,

Iron ore or flan-Fe, 51.98; Si0 H162; s. Well et the lower end of the clilrte'to receive Se S, 4.95; Cu, one per cent.; Au, 4.13. the used materiel from the cbute, e cornbnsf Sl'c'iofus ore-Fe 8.33; SiO?, SL43; Cu, tionwcllernbercornninnieeting with the lower 1.45; Au, 7.44. The initial charge was sev endv of the chute end intending above the enty pounds of iron to forty V)ounds of sili- Well, n burner glreote to proiect its blast oious'ore and fifty pounds of imefollowed through the combnstionobsniber over tlic 85 by e Working charge of one hundre pounds well and into the lower enel of the chute, sci d ol iron ore, fifty pounds of slicous ore, fifty combustion-chamber being closed to permit pounds of lime, and fifty pounds of sieg. pressure to be developed therein, means for There was formed at the bottom of the well s supplying air under pressure te seirl cb amber, mette containing fifty-one per cent copper, the inclination of tbs lower end of thc chute 9o besides econsidereble portionnbout ten per being snob es to arrest movement of ore therecent.-o block co per and metallic copper. on by gravity and the inclin ation ol the chute Tho slag analyze( silica., 32.4; iron, 26.4; above said arresting portion beiny suioient lime, 16. to enable movernent of the ore t iereon by What l claim isgravity so that the ore can be clxerge into 95 1. An ore-smelting lurnece comprising en the chute to choke the seme und to sccmnw inclined ore-chute having e eberginG-opening late on the lower portion thereof in the path et its upper end enrl en outlet-Steeb o ening of the blast from the burner-jet. from the chute below tbe upper end t creol, 4. An ore-serielting fornace comprising en a. combustion-chamber communicating with inclined orcfflnte lowing o. cherginw-opening the lower eno of tne omite and closed to peret its opper end snel en ontletfstacli opening mit pressure to be developed therein, ineens from tbe'ehnte below the upper ond thereof, for supplying combustible under pressure to e Well et the lower end of the chute to receive seid e nnnber, means for supplying air under the fused materiel trom the chute, e conibns n the chute being such as to enable downward and of theehuis and extending above the movement of the ore therein by gravity, Well, 'a burner directed to proiect its blast means for arresting such downward movethrough the combustion-chamber over the ment of the ore at a defin te positionin the well ond into the lower end ol tbe chute, seid 5 chute, the chute being unobstructed between ooinbnstion-cliember beine closed permit 1 1o said arresting position and the oreehsrging "pressnre to ,be developed therein, Ineens for inlet et the upper end of the chute, to permit supplgin ,air under pressure to said chamthe ore to feed bv gravity in solid stets orn ber, the nclinetion of tbe lower ond of the the upper end of the chute to seid arresting chute being snob es to arrest movement of o osition; and Ineens for drawing away the Vore thereon bygrevity and the inclination of 1x5 used ore et the lower portion of the chute. gtlie chute' ebovsegicl 'arresting portion boing 2. An ore-smeltng {nrsoe comprising en suicient toiperrnit movement of the ore inclined ore-chute having e chargin -openng thereon by gravity setlist the ore be et its Vupper end and en outlet-stac oglnng charged `into the chute to choke themend pressure to seid chamber, the inclination of tion-.oljxsfnercommunicating Yritll the lower lo;

55 from the chute below the upper end t jesi, to accumulate on the lV nfrerrfpoftir'hereoi in 1 zo Y a, combustion-chamber communicating with the sth of tbeblest Emol the burneet, and the lower end of the chute endY closedjtopen eirlast means epeYY YVinto the chute et the mit pressure to be develop'tirereireens point theroofees's "notion, for supplying combustible under pressure to 5. Ansoremeiting ini-nace comprising s. 5o said c amber, means for supplying air under Well,Y en oi'e-clintevextendng u werdly et en 125 pressure to said chamber, the inclinstion of` inclnetsrfV llifle of sei well andnev the chute being such as to enable downward ing a. chergmg pening et its upper end end movement of the ore therein by gravity, en ontlefestsl between said charging-open- I:ru-:ans for arresting such downward moveing and the'wsll, a combustion-chamber ex- 65` ment of the ore et a. deinte position in the tending over the Well and to one side thereof 13 opposite the ore-chute and in line therewith, forming an unobstructed chamber extending from one side vof the well and over the well and into the chute on the other side, burner means directed to project its blast through Seid chamber, over the well end into the lower end of the chute, seid lower end of the chiite having its flooret such inclination as to arrest movement of solid ore thereon, but to allow melted material to flow therefrom into the well, and the upper part of the chute being of greater inclination to enable ore to pass down thereon until it is arrested by the portion of lees inclination so es to present the lower end of the ore in the path of the blast from the burner, the seid eombu#tion-ohumher being closed to ermit pressure to be developed` therein, and) means for sup )lyingr nir under pressure to seid chamber sin directed to reject a blast ol iiir in the seme direction am? along with the burner-blast.

6. In an ore-smelting furnace, en inclined orc-chute, having en upper part of greater end e lower part of less inclination, the upper part of the chute having an ore-charging opening to enable the. chute to be choked with ore, end the lower end of the chute heing formed with e well und a combustionchernber closed to retain ges under pressure, and with burner und blust means for supplying and directing u hot` blast within Said chamber over said well und toward the body of ore in the chute, the fuel-end air sup )ly menne being;r reguluhle to control the oxidizing or reducing action of said blast, and a supplementary uirfblest means directed into the ore-chute.

ln testimony whereof l have hereunto set myliund, et Los Angeles,Calif(irnie,tl1is 30th dey of beptember` 1905.

ELFEG() RIVEROLL. ln presence of- ARTHUR l?. KNxon'r, VEILNA A. TALBERT. 

